Family Secrets
by DaisyBobs
Summary: My name is Charlotte Lucy Elizabeth Windsor. Lottie for short. I have a secret. A very big secret, and one I shan't tell you yet. It is for me to know and you to find out, which you probably will by the time this story has concluded.
1. Chapter 1: Year 1

PROLOGUE

My name is Charlotte Lucy Elizabeth Windsor. Lottie for short. I have a secret. A very big secret, and one I shan't tell you yet. It is for me to know and you to find out, which you probably will by the time this story has concluded.

* * *

CHAPTER 1

As I stepped through the pillar at King's Cross Station to Platform 9 3/4, I had to pinch myself. I couldn't believe the time had finally come; I was a witch and going to Hogwarts! Although I'd been brought up knowing about magic ever since I could remember, it was still surreal thinking that I was a part of this world.

After bidding farewell to my mother and brother, I boarded the train, carrying my barn owl, Cliff. I hoped to find an empty compartment and wait for people to come to me, but after a quick scan of the train, I decided that would be unlikely. Therefore, I slipped into the first compartment I could find that had fellow first years in, apologetically asking if it was okay for me to stay.

There were only two people in the compartment: a girl with bushy hair and big teeth, who introduced herself as Hermione Granger, and a boy, small and who appeared to be worried and upset about something. I recognised him as Neville Longbottom from pictures my mother had shown me.

After asking what the problem was, he explained that he had lost his toad, yet was convinced he had had it when he boarded the train. The girl, Hermione, then had to explain for him that the toad was called Trevor and had already been lost at least once that morning already. By this time, the train was moving, narrowing-down our search area and confining Trevor to the train, if of course, he was in fact on it. So, sliding closer to Neville, I told him what I thought: "We'll help look for him, Neville. Toads like dark, damp places, and in a busy place like this, Trevor will probably look for somewhere quiet to be too. However, since we're on a train, those are quite hard to come by so our best option is probably just to ask as many people as we can."

Hermione continued, "We will find him, Neville. There's only so far he could have gone. Come on." She left the compartment, dragging me and Neville behind her.

Neville looked in the dark, small corners I had recommended, while Hermione and I asked anyone and everyone we could. Unfortunately, the common theme among their answers was, "We haven't seen him, but we'll tell you if we do". It was rather annoying.

We met a couple of other first years, but no one of particular interest. That was, until we got to the last compartment in our carriage. Inside, two boys (a red-head and a raven-haired boy with glasses) were eating as many sweets as they possibly could, most of it probably from the Trolley Witch. Hermione asked about Trever as normal, but stopped when she noticed the red-head was holding his wand, presumably about to show a spell to his friend. Hermione questioned, and let herself into the compartment, gesturing me to follow.

We sat down, just as the red-head cleared his throat and muttered something I knew couldn't be a real spell as it only caused a few sparks to fly out if his wand. Hermione proceeded to repair the scruffy black haired boy's glasses, before exclaiming, "You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger, and, you are?" She looked down at the red-head, who then introduced himself as Ron Weasley. I then told them who I was, and after telling Ron about some dirt on his nose, Hermione flounced out the compartment, me tailing behind.

We met Neville on the way back to our compartment. He was beaming and clutching his toad. He said he'd found him by the coal store with the driver, just where it was dark and quiet, like I'd said. He then explained that the driver said we were five minutes away from Hogwart's, and that we should get changed. We bid him farewell as we headed off to the toilets, both me and Hermione feeling this would be a good year.


	2. Chapter 2: Year 1

CHAPTER 2

After a cold yet beautiful boat journey across the black lake, my fellow first years and I arrived at Hogwarts Castle. The imposing architecture couldn't help but be admired. I couldn't wait to see it in daylight.

We entered the building and met Professor McGonagall; a stern but kindly looking lady, whom I knew to be the Head of Gryffindor House. She left us for a few moments to 'smarten ourselves up'. In that time, a platinum-blonde haired boy by the name of Draco Malfoy confronted Harry about not 'making friends with wrong sort'. However, he was quickly told off by the now returned McGonagall and we proceeded to the main hall.

If I had thought the exterior of Hogwarts was awe-inspiring, it was nothing compared to the interior. Thousands of floating candles were magically suspended above us, and the ceiling seemingly disappeared into the sky above. Behind me, Hermione whispered, "It's not real, the ceiling. It's just enchanted." At the front of the hall, a raised dais had the grand teachers' table on it. In front of that, a rickety, three-legged stool had an old, worn wizard's hat placed upon it.

The first years clumped together at the base of the dais, confused as to what to do next. Suddenly, an opening at the rim of the hat appeared, and it burst into song, explaining briefly what the houses were, and how the sorting worked. The hall burst into applause, before McGonagall read out the first names.

Hermione was called before me, and she nervously edged up to the stool. She was one of the longer sortings, and there were several moments of silent anticipation. Then, just before the impatient whispering broke out, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!", and Hermione skipped towards the central red table that had exploded into applause.

The next notable sorting was Harry Potter, the raven-haired boy we'd met on the train. His sorting didn't take nearly as long as Hermione's did, but there still enough time for the tension to build. That was, until the hat cried, "GRYFFINDOR!", and the table at which my friend sat erupted into the loudest cheers yet, with a pair of twins chanting, "We got Potter!"

The hall quietened down and the name before mine was called: Ron Weasley, the red-head from the train. He looked almost as nervous as Hermione had, but didn't have long to worry, as the hat almost instantly called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" Ron visibly relaxed, his shoulders sagging in relief, and joined his new house.

Then, came the moment of truth; my name was called. I stepped up to the stool, looked at the remaining three students, and the hat was placed on my head. "Charlotte Windsor, an interesting one," it told me. "Not a Slytherin, that's for sure, but suitable for everywhere else. Very intelligent, I see, but not you're most defining quality, so that rules out Ravenclaw. Very brave, and willing to prove yourself, but also exceptionally kind and loyal. Do you have any preference?"

"Not really, sir, but I would quite like to join my friends," I eyed Gryffindor hopefully.

"How can I refuse such a polite young lady? Better be GRYFFINDOR!"

Introductions happened after Dumbledore's (our head master) speech had been said, and the food had appeared on our tables. A boy named Seamus Finnigan said he was a half-blood, and Neville (who had also surprisingly ended up in Gryffindor) told us he was a pureblood. Ron introduced us to his brothers (also in Gryffindor) Fred and George, the twins shouting "We got Potter" earlier, and the Gryffindor Prefect, Percy. Harry said he had wizard parents but was raised by muggles, and Hermione told us she was muggleborn. Finally, I explained I was half-blood, but, like everyone else, glossed over most of my heritage. Luckily.

The feast eventually ended, and we were escorted to our common rooms, where we were shown the dormitories and we bagsied beds. I got one next to Hermione, and promptly owled my mother and grandfather, telling them about my new house, the sorting, and my new friends. I then quickly fell asleep, not even remembering to take off my robes.


	3. Chapter 3: Year 1

CHAPTER 3

Most of our lessons during the first week were very similar: introductions to what they were, basic information and tasks given, with almost no practical work. Yet, it was still exciting, and most of us hadn't gotten over our euphoria of actually being at a school of wizardry.

The first out-of-the-ordinary lesson was potions on the Friday with Professor Snape. Potions was in the dungeons, and with the Slytherins, two things that are never great on their own, let alone both at once. We were just setting our things out when Snape strode his way into the room. He almost immediately started picking on Harry, asking him questions that even some of the second years would struggle with, let alone a first year raised by muggles for ten years. Both Hermione and I were the only ones that knew the answers to the questions, but Snape refused to acknowledge our existence.

Things didn't get any better from there. When Neville nearly melted his cauldron, Snape blamed Hermione and Harry, asking why they hadn't stopped him from making the mistake, and that they let him get on with it to make them look better.

I think we were all glad when the bell rang and we were released from our underground prison. No one was looking forward to when we'd have to come back the next week.

* * *

It was the day after (Saturday) when Hermione mentioned a sign on the Gryffindor notice board: flying lessons were coming up, starting Thursday. I myself had mixed feelings about them, feeling excited to learn the trademark skill of a witch, but terrified at the prospect of being on a flimsy branch high up in the air with nothing to protect you. So it was with anticipation that I wandered down to the lesson with Hermione.

Our teacher, Madame Hooch - with her yellow eyes - was quite a formidable person. She was a no-nonsense sort of person, yet not unlikeable. At the start of the lesson, she came marching across the mountainous terrain of the school grounds.

We each found a broom and stood to the left of it, before putting our right hand over the broom, shouting, "Up!" The idea was that the broom would then fly up into our open hands, ready for us to mount and fly them. However, only two people managed to successfully do it first try: dastardly Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. I managed to do it on my third try, along with most other people, but Hermione and Neville took at least six attempts each.

Then, we had to mount our brooms, and on the count of three, Madame Hooch would blow her whistle, and we'd carefully rise into the air. Unfortunately, we never got past two, as Neville panicked and kicked off too early. He then lost control and crashed into the castle, before landing with a crack on the grass below. Madame Hooch then explained that she was taking him to the hospital wing. She also specifically told us not to fly. But that was exactly what Harry and Malfoy did.

Malfoy found Neville's remembrall in the grass, picked it up, and declared to the class that he was going to steal it and hide it at the top of a tree. Of course, all the Slytherins laughed or smiled, but as a Gryffindor, I was appalled. Harry tried to fight him for it, and when he rose into the air, followed him. As per usual, Hermione tried to stop him, but to no avail.

For never having flown on a broom before, Harry flew surprisingly well, although they hadn't done anything particularly difficult yet. That all changed though, when Malfoy shouted something, and threw the small ball back towards the castle. As any normal Gryffindor would do, Harry then chased after it, obviously trying to catch it. He did. He was about a metre away from the window of McGonagall's office, but still managed to catch the small ball. It was only when he started flying back that we started cheering, although that immediately stopped when professor McGonagall came storming out of the building. She summoned Harry to follow her, and they left without another word.

We all thought he'd been expelled, and so were shocked when we met him at dinner, claiming to have become the youngest seeker in a century. Malfoy was obviously surprised too, as at dinner, he arrogantly strolled up to the table, and challenged Harry to a duel at midnight in the trophy room. Harry being Harry, accepted.

On the night, Hermione and I tried to stop the boys from going, but instead ended up getting locked out, and tailing along behind them. As we should have expected from the slimy Slytherin, Malfoy didn't appear at the trophy room, but had instead set Filch on us. In our attempt to escape Filch and his cat, Mrs Norris, we didn't think about where we going, and ended up at the banned third floor corridor. Again, in an attempt to escape, Hermione unlocked the door before passing through, waiting for Filch to leave. However, we weren't alone in the corridor, as all of a sudden, a large three-headed dog was breathing down our necks. We all screamed, not caring if anyone heard us or not, and deserted the room, but not before I managed to catch sight of a uniformed gap underneath the door - which I later learned was a trap door.

It was that trap door which would be the main cause for all our troubles in the rest of the year.


	4. Chapter 4: Year 1

CHAPTER 4

Life continued as normal after that, and Halloween seemed to spring upon us very suddenly. We were all very excited, as in the morning there had been live bats and ginormous pumpkins in the great hall: Halloween wasn't done by halves at Hogwarts!

Unfortunately, however, the Halloween feast was not until later that evening, and so we had a full day of lessons to get through before then. We had charms as our second lesson, something all the first years were excited about. We were going to practice our levitation charms for the first time!

At the start of the lesson, Professor Flitwick clarified the wand movement necessary for the charm (the swish and flick). We were then given one feather between two, and told to start practicing. I was with Neville, but neither of us were particularly successful. I managed to get the feather to shake and vibrate a few times, even partially lift off the table, but Neville didn't get any results. During one of his more successful results, my concentration wandered, and I ended up watching Ron and Hermione, who were paired together.

Hermione was lecturing Ron about how to say the incantation properly. Apparently, he was saying it wrong, although I thought Malfoy was the true offender. Ron, as usual, then got annoyed and defensive, and insisted that if she knew how to do it so well, then she should do it instead. Hermione huffed, but clearly said the incantation (albeit in a slightly haughty voice). The feather then delicately rose from the table, as if floating on a puff of wind. The classroom became almost silent, and the jealousy and annoyance coming from many people could be clearly felt. Professor Flitwick then praised Hermione in his squeaky voice, giving her five points to Gryffindor. The lesson then continued with more determination, but not before Seamus Finnigan managed to blow up his and Harry's feather.

It was after the lesson, on our way back to the common room for our break, that I overheard part of Ron, Harry, Seamus and Dean's conversation. They were discussing the charms lesson, and how it was disappointing that only two people had managed to successfully cast the charm: Hermione, and me. (I had only got my feather about a foot off the table before it ungraciously fell to the table again, but Professor Flitwick classed it as a successful levitation.)

Ron was just starting up about how Hermione had corrected his shabby spell casting, and I started to have a bad feeling about where the conversation was going. From the fact I could feel Hermione tense up next to me, I knew she was uneasy too. Things went from bad to worse when Ron mocked Hermione, saying, "Honestly, she's an absolute nightmare! 'It's Levi - oh - sa, not Levio - sah!'" That was a step too far, as before I could stop her, Hermione brushed past Ron, upset and angry tears forming in her eyes.

I started chasing after her, but had a sudden change of heart, and turned to face the boys instead. I spoke angrily, "Thought you were funny, did you? Check who's behind you next time. Not that you will do it again, will you?" I broke into a run after my friend, determined to try and comfort her, and get away from those idiotic boys.

I tried to follow Hermione, but due to crowds and twists and turns in the corridor, along with her head start, it didn't take me long to lose her. I mentally cursed Ron Weasley. This was all his fault. Because of the extreme size of Hogwarts, I knew it wouldn't be worth searching for her, and knew she'd turn up again when she was ready.

When she didn't return to lessons for the rest of the day, I got worried; Hermione never missed lessons. Ever! When she still hadn't been seen by the Halloween feast in the evening, I got really worried, but didn't know where to start if I was to go looking for her.

Luckily for me, Harry brought the subject up, just as the food appeared on the tables. After questioning her whereabouts, Neville said that Parvati Patil had seen her crying in the girl's toilets. That was all the information I needed, and I instantly leapt up from my seat and ran out the hall.

I rushed through the corridors, having a vague idea as to which toilet she was in. I hoped I was right, as otherwise it would take me an awfully long time to find her.

As I was sprinting past the grand staircase, I nearly bumped into Professor Quirrel coming up the stairs. He seemed to be in a terrible hurry, with an expression of terror etched on his face, but I couldn't tell where he was going. He didn't seem to notice me.

I finally came across the toilets, and was reassured they were the correct ones after I heard sobs coming from the nearest cubicle to the door. I tentatively walked up to it, and said, "Hermione? Is that you?

I got a muffled reply, "Go away."

"You know you don't mean that, Hermione. Come on, come out. We can talk better out here."

There was a very slight sigh, but the clanking of metal and the door unlocking was a welcome sound. Through the door, a teary and puffy-eyed Hermione appeared. "Ron didn't mean all those things he - " I stopped midway through my sentence.

A pair of large, ugly legs had appeared just inside the door. A grunting, equally ugly head was attached, and the monstrous arms were carelessly swinging a hunk of wood, most closely similar to a club. Next to me, Hermione faintly whispered, "That isn't good."

I instead murmured, "Troll."

We both then ran back inside the cubicle Hermione had just left, me frantically whispering a troll's weaknesses, although none could come to mind. We then heard the unlocking of another, bigger door; the main bathroom door. Two pairs of footsteps then seemed to enter the room, confusing the troll. In its angry and befuddled state, the troll swung its club even more, and powerfully aimed blow caught the row of cubicles in their middle, smashing them to smithereens. Planks of splintered wood clattered down on Hermione and me, a thin dust settling on our clothes.

Hermione then decided to try and make a run for it, but the troll saw her jumping across the debris. It cornered her under a sink, and smashed the one next to her, after the clumsily dodged the blow.

I had also stood up, but instead of trying to run away like Hermione had, I stood my ground, for I had a plan. Trolls came from mountainous and forest-surrounded territory. They were also exceptionally stupid, commonly thought to not even be able tell which way was up. It was this knowledge that I used to my advantage. Using a simple yet unusual home-decorating transfiguration, I made a few large and woody pot plants appear. (The spell was one my mum had taught me to decorate my dormitory with a more homely feel.) The troll was instantly drawn to the things that vaguely reminded it of its natural habitat, and dropped Harry, who it had taken hold of. I then shouted at Ron, "Levitate its club!"

In the corner, I could hear the wavering voice of Hermione going, "Swish and flick."

I kept on making new plants appear in order to keep the troll's attention off us. I told Ron, "Let it drop!" intending for the club to drop on the troll's head, and knock it out. If my plan didn't work, it would probably be our chance to say goodbye to the world. And it would be all my fault.

But luckily it did work, and the troll collapsed onto the rubble, crushing several of my hard-earned plants in the process. It was also at that point that the hoard of teachers arrived, and Hermione scrambled out from underneath the sink she was still cowering under. Harry carefully extracted his wand from the troll's nose, wary of its revolting bogies.

Professor McGonagall furiously asked us what had happened, and Hermione took the blame, saying she had read about trolls and thought she could handle it, dragging me along too. She said that if Harry and Ron hadn't turned up, we'd probably be dead. Harry being selfless, then said that what we ended up doing with the plants and club was my idea, not anyone else's. McGonagall then took away five points each from Hermione and me, for such 'lack of judgement', but also awarded five points each to Harry and Ron for 'sheer dumb luck'.

There was a slight pause, and then McGonagall gave me ten points for, "exceptional transfiguration skills". It was almost like an afterthought.

But that was how Hermione and I became friends with Ronald Weasley and the boy who lived.


	5. Chapter 5: Year 1

**So, if you haven't already guessed, I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter, so the few quotations from the books are all hers, not mine.**

* * *

CHAPTER 5

Quidditch was the next major event in the school calendar. Everyone was abuzz with Quidditch talk weeks before the first match (Gryffindor versus Slytherin). As with everything secret at Hogwarts, word seemed to have got out that Harry Potter was the new Gryffindor seeker, the youngest player in a century.

At breakfast, Harry didn't eat much, despite us all trying to convince him. Luckily though, Ron could have eaten enough breakfast for the whole school, so ate Harry's for him. After half an hour of hopeless coaxing, Oliver Wood (the Gryffindor Quidditch captain) came by our table, saying the team were going down to the changing rooms. We wished Harry good luck, grabbed a few last pieces of toast each, and went down to the pitch ourselves. Better to get there early with good seats and time to set up banners, instead of rushing at the last minute.

It was around fifteen minutes before many other people started coming in hoards, and another fifteen more before play commenced. Ron had previously explained the rules to Hermione, and recapped my sparse knowledge while he was at it. The atmosphere was incredible, with people from all four houses cheering ecstatically - before the match had even begun! Of course, Gryffindor and Slytherin were loudest, but the other two put up a good fight.

When the players flew onto the pitch, everyone went crazy. I scanned their ranks for Harry, and spotted him just as he noticed our magnificent 'Potter for President' banner, the writing flashing different colours after Hermione's outstanding charm work.

Play began quickly, and the quaffle was thrown into the air by Madame Hooch, just as the two bludgers and the snitch were released. Lee Jordan (the Weasley Twins' friend) commentated as Gryffindor got the quaffle, and scored their first goals. Harry was flying around above the main area of play, obviously trying to keep out of the way.

Play continued for a while, both sides scoring, but Gryffindor always staying a few points ahead. The current points were 60 - 40 to Gryffindor, and nothing much had happened. No one had seen the snitch, and the goals were becoming fewer and farther between.

Then, there was a flash of gold, and Harry soared across the pitch on his Nimbus 2000 (he'd gotten it a few days earlier for making the team.) The Slytherin seeker was in quick pursuit. However, the chase soon stopped, as Pucey, the Slytherin captain, flew brutally into Harry, causing the Gryffindor seeker to spin out. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, the snitch had disappeared, and Harry had returned to hovering above the action.

A few more points were scored by both teams, but not much else ensued until, suddenly, Harry's broom began shaking and bucking uncontrollably. It took the rest of the spectators a while to realise, but when they did, everyone immediately panicked.

Ron shouted at me over the din of the crowd, "Can't you do something?"

I replied with, "Spells and defence are not my speciality! I can work with creatures, but not bucking brooms!"

"But the transfiguration with the troll!" He protested.

"That was one spell, Ron, one spell!"

During the conversation, I kept my binoculars trained on Harry, desperate to make sure he was still on his broom. Hermione, however, had her binoculars trained elsewhere: the teacher's stand. She suddenly cried, "Its Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" before thrusting her binoculars at Ron and running off.

I instantly found Professor Snape in the crowd, and saw what she meant. Snape had his eyes focused unblinkingly at Harry, and he also appeared to be muttering something. Those were not good signs.

I then looked back at Harry, desperately praying for his safety. I was distracted though, when a burst of flames appeared at the teacher's stand. Hermione had done her job. Harry instantly regained control of the broom, and continued playing.

The game ended mere seconds later though, as Harry immediately took off after something, and landed quickly. He then appeared to be sick, but instead coughed up the snitch, which he had almost swallowed. It was a win for Gryffindor!

Not long later, we were sat in Hagrid's hut, drinking strong cups of tea, and eating tea some rather inedible rock cakes. Ron, Hermione and I were arguing about why Harry's broom had acted oddly. Ron insisted it was Snape, with Hermione backing him up about the curse. "I know a curse when I see one," she confirmed. However, Hagrid wouldn't take a word of it, still arguing that it wasn't Snape. He seemed to know something we didn't.

Harry suddenly interjected into the conversation, "He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. He's trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid nearly dropped the teapot in shock.

"How on earth do yeh know about Fluffy?" he questioned.

"You called a Cerberus," I said, flabbergasted. "Fluffy?"

Hagrid didn't see the point I was trying to make. He explained how he'd bought him off some Greek man from a pub the year before, lending him to Dumbledore to guard... something. He cut himself off before he could explain what was being protected. Harry picked up on the fact, but learned nothing more when Hagrid said it was top secret.

He did tell accidentally tell us something though, "You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"

"Aha!" exclaimed Harry. "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid couldn't deny we'd won this argument.


	6. Chapter 6: Year 1

CHAPTER 6

As we entered December and the weather got colder, the atmosphere got gradually cheerier. Christmas was coming, and nobody - not even the teachers and seventh years - could deny they were excited.

On the day before the holidays started, and Hermione and I went home, we met Hagrid bringing one of the Christmas trees into the great hall. We followed him, and were amazed at how lavishly the hall had been decorated. Twelve towering Christmas trees lined the edges of the hall, with beautiful candles and icicles glittering on their branches. Long wreaths of holly and mistletoe adorned the walls.

Hermione broke our unique moment of awe. "Come on, we have half an hour before lunch, so we had better go to the library."

Hagrid was confused: even with Hermione's love of books and learning we couldn't possibly spend time in the library before the holidays.

Harry clarified it for him, "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is." He should have known not to tell him exactly, as Hagrid immediately protested. We responded by saying that nothing could stop us, unless Hagrid wanted to tell us who Flamel was himself. Of course, Hagrid kept silent, so we ended up in the library anyway.

After we found nothing (again), Ron asked Hermione and me if it would be safe to ask our parents. I said I would, but couldn't promise anything. Hermione said it would be very safe, "as they are both dentists."

Other than a few letters passed between us during the two weeks of holiday, nothing much of any notable importance happened over Christmas.

Well, nothing except Harry got an invisibility cloak from an anonymous sender as a present.

* * *

 **Sorry this is such a short chapter. I will post the next one soon to make up for it. And also, thank you so much to the people who have followed and favourited Family Secrets. It means so much, especially since this is my first Fanfiction!**


	7. Chapter 7: Year 1

CHAPTER 7

After the holidays, school resumed as usual. Snape was just as cruel as ever, and Quirrel continued to be a hopeless, stuttering mess of a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

The four of us had begun to give up on ever finding anything about Nicolas Flamel, yet we continued to diligently trek to the library at every point possible. Unfortunately, Harry's time in the library was compromised as he had Quidditch practise thrice weekly.

It was after one of his particularly gruelling session that something unusual happened. Harry had just revealed to us that Snape would be refereeing the next match (Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff), and we were brainstorming ideas of how to get Harry out of playing.

However, our conversation was interrupted when the portrait hole opened up and Neville came tumbling through. His legs were stuck together with a jinx I instantly recognised as the Leg-locker jinx. I supported him as Hermione cast the counter-spell: everyone else was too busy laughing. We asked him what had happened and he explained how he had come across Malfoy in an empty corridor, before eventually being cursed and forced to bunny hop up to Gryffindor Tower.

In order to console Neville, Harry dug around in his pocket for something, and pulled out a chocolate frog, one I knew to be his last. He handed it over to his friend, who quickly ate it. Neville glanced at the card, but didn't do anything with it. As he walked out of the room to the dormitories, he stopped looked at Harry and handed him the card. "You collect them don't you?"

Harry read it, before exclaiming, "I've found him! I've found him! I knew I'd read about him somewhere before!"

Ron asked who he was on about.

"Dumbledore is most famous for discovering the twelve uses of Dragon's blood, his defeat of Grindelwald in 1945, and his work with famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel!"

At that, Hermione rushed off, and came back five minutes later with an enormous book, so big she could hardly carry it. She dropped it heavily on the table with a large thud, before leafing through it, concentrating deeply. She finally found the page she was looking for, and read out, "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"

Although I answered in recognition, this obviously didn't have the effect she was after, as Harry and Ron looked at her with blank faces.

"Oh honestly, don't you two read?" She gave us the book.

 _'The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

 _There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life on Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).'_

Realisation appeared on the boys' faces, and I'm sure it appeared on mine too. This must be what Fluffy was guarding: the Philosopher's Stone. It would make sense, as Hogwarts was said to be the safest place to hide something, after Gringotts. Dumbledore would want to protect something that Voldemort could use to come back into power, especially if it belonged to his friend. I just wondered what else could be protecting the stone.

* * *

A few days later, Harry's Quidditch match against Hufflepuff commenced. Ron, Hermione and I were just as nervous as Harry. We'd practised the leg-locker curse to perfection ("Remember, its _Locomotor Mortis_ ," Hermione had told us).

As the players took off, we cheered and screamed like there was nothing to worry about, although we were secretly very relieved that Dumbledore had come to watch. About half way through the match, Malfoy and his puppets, Crabbe and Goyle turned up. He started antagonising us, particularly Ron and Neville. Taking Harry's advice to heart, Neville stuttered, "I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," before Ron snapped and jumped on Malfoy. Neville paused for a second, before joining him in the fight. Due to the chaos, the boys missed the end of the match, and Harry catching the snitch, and both Hermione and I were distracted.

After the match, we met up with Harry in the common room, slightly worried about him as he had disappeared for what felt like hours. Ron was still exhilarated about his fight with Malfoy, but Harry didn't seem to share his enjoyment. He explained how he had overheard Snape threatening Quirrel about the Stone. Snape apparently wanted Quirrel to learn how to get past Fluffy from Hagrid, and that Quirrel didn't want Snape as his enemy.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron noted.


	8. Chapter 8: Year 1

Chapter 8

In the weeks that followed, we became much more on edge. We always pressed our ears to the door of the third-floor corridor to check Fluffy was still growling whenever we passed. Luckily though, Quirrel seemed to be holding out longer than anyone could have expected.

Hermione and I had more on our minds than just the Philosopher's Stone. Hermione had started drawing up exam revision timetables for the both of us. (I agreed to join her because we were both in need of the private time together, and there is never any harm in studying too early. The boys thought differently though.)

When he found out, Ron asked flabbergasted at why we were studying so early. We explained how there were only ten weeks left, and that we, unlike them, wanted to pass our exams and get into second year.

The teachers were thinking similarly to us, and piled mountains if homework upon us, making the Easter holidays much less fun than the relaxing Christmas ones for everyone. The four of us were in the library one day, researching among the quiet shelves, when Hagrid appeared near us. He was obviously trying to discreetly look among the shelves for something, but wasn't achieving his goal very well. We attempted a bit of conversation as he left, Ron even told him how we knew about Flamel and the Stone, but Hagrid hushed us at the subject, before leaving hurriedly.

Intrigued, Ron searched the shelves around where Hagrid had been looking. He came back, carrying a bundle of books. "Dragons! That was what Hagrid was looking up!" He showed us two books: _Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland_ and _From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide_.

"Well, these aren't the best books to look in. They're exceptionally outdated! I know of much better works in which to find this information!" I said, and received confused faces from the others. I shrugged.

Harry explained about how Hagrid had always wanted a dragon. Ron then told us how breeding dragons was illegal on this country, and that they were almost impossible to tame. It was one of the few subjects he knew anything important about, as his brother Charlie worked with dragons in Romania. Harry and Hermione were shocked at the revelation of there being wild dragons in the UK, having both been raised by muggles. We were all, therefore, very confused about what Hagrid was doing.

We went down to his hut later that day, as we had agreed between the four of us that we needed to have a serious conversation with him about everything that was happening. As we stepped through the door Hagrid held open for us, we walked into a wall of heat. A fire was blazing in the fireplace, and none of the windows appeared to be open.

When we sat down, we weren't offered with the usual rock cakes, adding the oddity of the situation. We first started conversation started with the Philosopher's Stone, and Hermione managing to wangle some mire information out of him through a perfect use of flattering. We found out that other teachers - including Snape! - were helping to guard the Stone. We also discovered that Hagrid was the only teacher who knew how to get past Fluffy, apart from maybe Dumbledore.

Conversation then quickly changed as Harry finally asked to open a window due to the immense heat. Hagrid refused, stealing a quick glance at the cauldron hanging in the fireplace. Harry noticed too, saying, "What is that?"

I knew though, and I think he might have too. Inside the cauldron sat a large black egg: a dragon egg. My eyes brightened, as dragons were absolutely fascinating.

Ron asked a question, "Where did you get it from? They're so expensive!"

Hagrid looked quite pleased with himself, "Won it. Last night. Down the pub." I realised Hagrid won a lot of things at the pubs in Hogsmeade, the nearby village.

Hermione questioned what he was going to do with it after it hatched.

"Well, I've been doin' some readin'," He pulled _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit_ out from under his pillow, before listing off a couple of facts that were surprisingly accurate for when the books had been written: leave eggs in the fire because dragon mothers breathe on them, and feed hatchlings a mix of chicken and brandy every half an hour (this was questionable). He had also correctly identified the egg as a Norwegian Ridgeback, saying they were rare. (I couldn't help myself from recommending him a few better books, though.)

He looked very smug and proud of himself, although Hermione thought differently, "You live in a wooden house, Hagrid."

However, Hagrid didn't care.

* * *

So now we had another thing to worry about, as if the stress of exams and the fear for the Philosopher's Stone wasn't enough. Fortunately, Harry had the ingenious idea of getting Ron's brother Charlie to help us. Charlie worked with dragons in Romania, at a sanctuary, and would safely be able to take care of Norbert (as Hagrid had called him) as part of his work.

Ron wrote to his brother, and it was arranged that Norbert would be collected from the astronomy tower a week later. It was just our luck however, that Malfoy overheard one of our conversations planning the night. Because of this, when we heaved the box in which Norbert was temporarily housed in up to the astronomy tower, Malfoy must have sneakily climbed out of bed, and told Professor McGonagall of our plans of traipsing the corridors at night.

As Charlie and his friends had collected Norbert and started their return journey to Romania, we started our trek back to the Gryffindor common room and dormitories. Unfortunately, McGonagall knew of our activities, and so cornered us in the corridor just before the fat lady. Ron had luckily been able to avoid detection as he had hung back at the astronomy tower in order to talk to Charlie.

We were quickly escorted to McGonagall's office, where we found Malfoy waiting, a smug look plastered over his face. We were given a stern and angry lecture by our head of house, before having fifty points removed from us each, totalling one hundred and fifty points lost from Gryffindor. (Malfoy lost fifty points too, as he had also been wandering the corridors at night, despite his 'good' intentions. It wouldn't matter though; he'd quickly regain them all from Professor Snape through favouritism.) To add insult to injury, we were then given detention together the next week, not making ourselves feel any better.

We were then hurriedly dismissed, as if McGonagall couldn't wait to see the back off us.


	9. Chapter 9: Year 1

**If you are still unware that I am not J.K. Rowling, then let's put it this way: do you really think I could come up with such an amazing world? If you answered _'no'_ , then you are correct. I am not - and probably never will be - J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

CHAPTER 9

It was a week after our escapade with Norbert that we traipsed down to Hagrid's Hut with Filch. We were serving detention with Hagrid by entering the Forbidden Forest, and helping him with a task he had to complete.

We'd had an awful week, as everyone in Gryffindor, and mostly everyone in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too, had turned against us for losing one hundred and fifty points. Everyone had been thoroughly looking forward to Slytherin losing the house cup for the first time in eight years, but now three first years had to come and ruin it. Of course, if they knew why we had been out of bed at midnight, they might have been slightly more sympathetic, although it was hard to believe at the current time.

As we arrived at Hagrid's, Malfoy commenced his moaning again, ranting about how work in the Forbidden Forest was servant's work. Everybody - including Filch - ignored him. Hagrid explained what we were doing, and split us into pairs: Harry and Malfoy would go with Fang, while Hermione and I would go with Hagrid. We went our separate ways, and began our job.

Hagrid had explained how something had been injuring the unicorns of the forest, and that one had been hurt badly by whatever it was. I had been pleasantly shocked when Hagrid said there were unicorns in the Forest, although I don't know why I was surprised. I asked Hagrid quietly as we walked if I could help him look after and keep an eye on the unicorns, as they liked girls more than boys, and because I already knew a lot about how to properly care for the unique creatures. I almost squeaked in a most unladylike way when he agreed.

The walk continued normally after that, with the trees getting bigger and more densely packed as we crept deeper into the Forest. We suddenly halted after about ten minutes, when Hagrid told us to hide behind a tree. Both Hermione and I were confused, but changed our minds when we saw a black, wispy shape glide at speed past our tree. "What was that, Hagrid?" Hermione asked. We knew it was something to be afraid of when Hagrid didn't know, and said it didn't belong in the Forest. What we did gain from the encounter though, was the knowledge that we knew what had been attacking the unicorns, and that it would lead us to where the injured one was at the moment.

After about five minutes of travelling in the direction the creature had flown, we stopped again. This time, it was to regain our bearings and sense of direction, but we commenced again after Hagrid suddenly bolted into the Forest in the direction we were headed, and where the creature had been headed too. Hermione and I looked around for a second, before seeing the last few remnants of red sparks in the air, and chasing after Hagrid. At the start of our detention, we had all been told how to conjure red sparks to alert the attention of the other group should we be in danger. Seeing those red sparks in the distance meant that Harry and Draco were in trouble.

Once we arrived at the scene, we were greeted with the sight of seeing Draco clinging ungracefully to a tree, obviously cowering from something that he had just seen. Hagrid was trying (unsuccessfully and with little sympathy) to get him down. Harry was propped up on his elbows on the forest floor, caressing his temple, also visibly shocked. A centaur, who later introduced himself as Firenze, was talking to him about something.

Another centaur (older than Firenze) then joined the group from elsewhere in the Forest, and Firenze spoke to him as Bane. When Hagrid retrieved Malfoy from the tree, he walked over to the two arguing centaurs. He asked if either of them had seen anything suspicious, but the only answer he got was from Bane, "Mars is unusually bright tonight." Nothing else interesting was conversed, and Hagrid quickly escorted us from the Forest.

I was told later that Harry and Malfoy had been attacked by the creature we saw earlier in our in search. The boys had found the injured unicorn (it had unfortunately died) with a 'black shadow' - as they described it - leaning over the carcass. It had been sucking the unicorn's blood, and had then chased after the boys when it realised they were there. As we walked out of the Forest, Hagrid told us that he suspected the 'black shadow' was Voldemort, or some kind of inhuman, spirit form of him. That was the worst part of the night.

It was the next morning, as we waited in the dungeons for our final potions lesson before exams, when another interesting advancement in the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone occurred. The four of us were the first to arrive (thanks to Hermione). We waited outside the classroom usual, when the door was suddenly flung open. At first, we thought it was Snape letting us into the classroom early, and so were shocked when Quirrel came rushing out, pale-faced and looking like he was a five-year old about to cry. He disappeared down the end of the corridor. Snape them sauntered up to the door, noticing us, and glaring at us icily. He spat, "What are you doing, loitering there? Five points from Gryffindor," before slamming the door in our faces.

Looking back on the situation, I thought I remembered hearing whimpering, and cries of, "No, no - not again -" and "Alright - alright," often in the voice of Quirrel. This just made the others' arguments against Snape even more worrying and believable. It also meant that Quirrel had finally given in to Snape, meaning Fluffy was the only thing between Snape and the Philosopher's Stone.

Things were not looking good.

* * *

 **So, I've decided to start doing weekly updates so I can have time to write up new chapters. This means the next update will be Saturday, and then every Saturday from then on.**


	10. Chapter 10: Year 1

**Out of all the things that have happened in the last week, one of them is not me becoming J.K. Rowling. Therefore, I own none of her characters and plotlines. Unfortunately.**

* * *

CHAPTER 10

Exams seemed to fly by in the following week. I doubt any of us will ever truly know how we managed to get through the whole week with good marks while we were terrified at the prospect of Snape getting the Stone and potentially handing it over to Voldemort. But somehow we did, and we had one less thing to worry about at the end of it.

A few days after exams, we were eating breakfast as normal, waiting for the post owls to arrive like normal. When they did arrive (like normal), they dropped letters and parcels to eagerly awaiting students like normal. What wasn't normal was the post within that post drop. I got letters from my younger brother Ed, as well as my parents' friend, Mr Barnaby. This surprised me, as although I was close friends with Mr Barnaby, he very rarely wrote to me.

I opened Mr Barnaby's letter first, and what was in it shocked and devastated me. It couldn't be true what he said! For confirmation, I tore into Ed's letter, and nearly cried when he said the same thing as Barnaby. A clipping of a newspaper fell out of the envelope, but I didn't notice, for I was already running out of the hall. I needed to owl them back. I couldn't believe it to be true.

* * *

 ** _Hermione's POV_**

It was a very sudden exit on Lottie's behalf. The post owls arrived as normal, and I didn't think anything of it when she got two letters. What did surprise me was when she quietly gasped and started tearing up after reading the contents. She then ripped open the second letter, and had barely held it for ten seconds, before running out of the hall, in the direction of the common room.

Harry and Ron's gazes flicked from me to the empty door, both as confused as I was. Ron then picked up a loose sheet of paper from the table where Lottie had been sat. It was a muggle newspaper front cover, and Ron confusedly read out the headline:

 **PRINCESS DIANA DEAD**.

Only Harry and I understood vaguely what it meant, along with a few other muggleborns who overheard. Ron stared at us, not understanding. I briefly explained to him who she was, and why it was such a big thing in muggle Britain. "But why did Lottie run out then?" questioned Harry. "That can't be the reason, can it?"

And that I couldn't answer.

* * *

 ** _Lottie's POV_**

My mother was dead. That was why I had run out of the hall at breakfast.

My mother was dead. It kept chanting round my head, refusing to go away.

I was currently sat on an almost completely empty train on the way home to mourn with my father and brother. I only had with me a small, hastily packed backpack. I had left hurriedly after telling McGonagall my circumstances. I hadn't even said goodbye to my friends.

When I got off the train, I immediately saw my brother, father and Mr Barnaby. I ran over to them, and let Ed sink into my arms. I hadn't seen him in months, since Christmas, and it devastated me that the reason I was seeing him now in term time was because our mother was dead.

My mother was dead. The fact was persistent as I quietly climbed into Mr Barnaby's car.

My mother was dead. It was clear to everyone, and hung over the household heavily.

My mother was dead. The fact would remain awfully true for the rest of my life.

My mother was dead.

* * *

 **Yet another upload! You might be able to start getting ideas about Lottie's secret, but that is all I will say.  
** **See you all again next week!**


	11. Chapter 11: Year 1

CHAPTER 11  
 ** _Hermione's POV_**

Professor McGonagall explained to us where Charlotte had gone, and that she probably wouldn't be back for several days, if at all. Her mother had just died, and she needed to mourn with her family. I felt awful for her.

Although we were all still confused as to why the newspaper clipping had fallen from Lottie's envelope.

It was in the afternoon of Lottie's departure that we finally figured out most of the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone. We'd been lying in the shade of a tree by the lake, when Harry came to a sudden realisation. He didn't tell us what he thought of, but instead led us towards Hagrid's. "Don't you think it's odd," he shouted over his shoulder. "That what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon, and a stranger just happens to have one?"

At Hagrid's hut, Harry interrogated him about that night in the pub. Under pressure, Hagrid let a few, unfortunate facts through, and everything began to fall into place. It was also unfortunate, because if we could get these facts out of him this easily, I didn't doubt someone else could get them out of him too, especially when he was probably drunk and very happy about a dragon egg. On the plus side though, we now knew how to get past Fluffy.

After saying a hurried and panicked farewell to Hagrid, Harry led us up to the castle. He said something about talking to Professor Dumbledore, but it came out as a bit of a garbled mess in his excitement. However, we never got as far as the Professor's office, as we bumped into Professor McGonagall on the way. None of us seemed particularly pleased about the encounter, and it only resulted in us getting mildly told off and McGonagall aware of our knowledge of the Stone. Also from the conversation, Harry managed to guess that Snape would steal the Stone tonight.

In order to try and stop Snape, we came up with a plan. Ron and Harry would wait outside the third-floor corridor, and I would wait outside the staffroom. Unfortunately, our plan failed on both parts: Ron and Harry came across Professor McGonagall again, and were nearly given detention (again). I was also stopped. When Snape left the staffroom, he asked what I was doing. I panicked, and responded by saying I was waiting for Professor Flitwick. I was forced to wait after that, and forced to talk with Professor Flitwick, meaning I wasn't able to keep an eye on Snape. As soon as I was able to leave, I did, and went running to the Gryffindor common room, where I found Ron and Harry waiting.

I quickly explained what had happened at the staffroom. They also explained what had happened on the third floor, and we descended into an awkward silence. Harry broke the silence first, "I'm going down the trapdoor. Tonight."

Both Ron and I were shocked. "What! You can't do that! You'll get EXPELLED!" I exclaimed.

"Hermione, don't you get it? This is no longer just about school! If Snape gets the Stone and gives it to Voldemort, then the whole world is doomed! It doesn't matter about grades, or house points, or Quidditch anymore! None of that's important," Harry argued angrily.

There was a pause. "I'll use my invisibility cloak, and the flute Hagrid got me for Christmas, and I'll go down the trapdoor tonight," Harry explained quietly.

But Ron and I couldn't just let him kill himself. Not on his own. "Well, we're coming with you then," Ron demanded, and I nodded in agreement. Harry didn't even try to argue.

* * *

We stayed in the common room until at least midnight, waiting for everyone else to leave. When the common room was finally empty, we got up to leave when a voice came from the far side of the room, "Where are you going?" Neville appeared from around an armchair.

Harry tried to reassure him by saying that we weren't doing anything. Neville, however, knew us too well, "You're going out again. You're going to make us lose more points," he stuttered. "I won't let you. I'll - I'll fight you."

As Ron tried to hopelessly argue with him, Harry desperately whispered to me, "Do something." So, I racked my brains to come up with a suitable spell.

"Sorry Neville," I said. " _Petrificus Totalus_." Neville instantly stiffened up like a board, and fell over onto his back. We then covered ourselves in the invisibility cloak and slipped out the portrait hole.

At the third floor, we were greeted with the sight of a self-playing harp, and a sleeping Fluffy, with all three heads snoring peacefully. We managed to move one of the dog's paws to reveal the trapdoor. We heaved open the door and looked down into the seemingly never-ending drop below. We didn't know what was down there, and so I was surprised when Ron offered to jump down first. When I heard him shout up saying it was ok, I jumped, closely followed by Harry.

At the bottom of the shaft, we landed in a soft and slightly slimy pile of ropes. I thought they seemed rather a lot like plants. As Harry landed, Ron mentioned how far under the school we must be. Harry said it was lucky this plant thing was here to catch our fall. I didn't think it was as lucky as he said, because when I looked at the boys, vines were stretching over their legs and stomachs, holding them down. I told them as such, and they instantly panicked, just as they shouldn't have. I had identified the plant as Devil's Snare, which squeezes its victims to their death. I told the boys to relax, doing so myself. In a relaxed state, I slid through the vines, and ended up landing in a cavernous room.

I shouted up to the two boys that they needed to relax, but only Harry listened. He fell down beside me, before he too shouted up at Ron. He also asked me to do something (again), so I racked brains for anything that might help. Then it came to me: Devil's Snare hated sunlight and loved the damp and the dark. "That's it! I need to make a fire! But I don't have any wood!" In my panic, I forgot the basic principles of being a witch.

Luckily, Ron came to my aid, "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT!?"

That shook me out of my confusion, and I charmed a few bluebell flames to appear. The Devil's snare reacted accordingly and promptly dropped Ron.

"Good thing no one panicked," he said as he dusted himself off.

We quickly walked towards the next room, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary. An odd buzzing, sort of like birds, was coming from behind the door, and I was intrigued as to what we would have to face. Inside the room, we saw hundreds of what appeared to be birds. The boys wondered if they would attack us if we crossed the room, and Harry decided to run across the room to check, covering his face and eyes with his arms. When he wasn't attacked, Ron and I followed, and all three of us then tried push and pull open the door, with no luck.

I looked around the room in desperation: how were we meant to retrieve the Stone if we couldn't even get out of the second. In my search, I looked more closely at the birds (maybe they would be of help) and noticed they were glittering. _Glittering_. In fact, they weren't birds at all, but instead winged keys. The other two had also noticed this, and also that there was a broomstick resting in the middle of the floor. Harry came to a conclusion of what we had to do quicker than I did: "We've got to use the broom to catch the right one!"

I didn't like the sound of this, "But there are hundreds there!"

Ron examined the handle intently, "Well, it's got to be big, and probably old-fashioned and silver too, like the handle."

Harry seized the broomstick and flew into the air, looking for a key that would suit the description. He circled for a bit, before Ron called out, "That one, with the crumpled wing!" Harry quickly spotted the key in question, and chased after it for a second, before eventually catching it. He flew with it down to us, and I pushed the key through the key hole, opening the way into the next room.

At first, the room was shrouded in darkness, with shadows lurking inside. However, as soon as we stepped, torches on the walls lit, revealing a giant, life-sized chess board. The shadows I had been able to distinguish earlier were in fact massive chess pieces, made even scarier as none of the white pieces had any faces. I didn't know what the point of this obstacle was, but luckily Harry spoke it for me. Ron answered, "Well, I think we've got to play our way across the board. And, no offence, since neither of you are particularly good at chess -"

He trailed off, but Harry cut him off anyway, "We're not offended, just tell us what to do."

Ron told me to become a castle, and Harry to become a Bishop, while he became a knight. Ron took charge quite comfortably, darting round the board when possible to get a better view, and for tactical advantage. Our first major shock was when the white queen took our black knight (not Ron) and turned it into smashed smithereens, just like in Wizard's Chess. That was when we realised the seriousness of the game. Ron then continued moving round the board, taking as many white pieces as they took black. Eventually, he started muttering to himself, saying, "Yes... it's the only way... I've got to be taken..."

Both Harry and I protested, but Ron was adamant, "That's chess! You've got to make sacrifices! I'll move, so the queen will take me, which leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry! It's the only way!" Ron wouldn't let Harry argue, and moved to his final position. As he planned, the white queen took him, sending him flying across the room, where he landed, unconscious. I very nearly lost my cool and ran after him, but Harry stopped me just in time. The game wasn't over yet.

Harry moved, check-mating the king, and ending the game. We then both ran over to Ron, to check he was alright. After being reassured, we quickly walked to the doorway, and passed through into the next room.

This room was the worst smelling one so far, and after looking in the corner, we noticed why. A big mountain troll was in the corner, similar to the one we fought on Halloween. Luckily, this one was already unconscious, having already been fought be Snape, and meant we could just pass through.

The next room held only a table, with seven potion bottles sat on top. A piece of parchment lay next to them. When we stepped over the threshold of the room, purple flames shot up behind us in the doorway, and black flames sprouted in the other doorway before us. As we were now in the room, we were able to get a closer look at the table, and saw that the parchment had a riddle on it, telling us how to escape the room:

 _Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
_ _Two of us will help, you whichever you would find,  
_ _One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
_ _Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
_ _Two among our number, hold only nettle wine,  
_ _Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
_ _Choose unless you wish to stay here for evermore,  
_ _To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
_ _First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
_ _You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
_ _Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
_ _But if you would move onward, neither are your friend;  
_ _Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
_ _Neither dwarf nor giant holds death on their insides;  
_ _Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
_ _Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

I knew that this task was one I would be most capable at solving. It was interesting it had been put as a challenge, as many wizards may be great at spells and duelling, but most were terribly lacking in the intellectual and logical fortes. Almost unknowingly, I started pacing up and down, whispering and muttering to myself. A few moments later though, I clapped my hands and told Harry which bottles we should drink. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire," I explained. "And the one at the end will get us through the purple."

"But there's only enough in that for one of us to get through the black flames!" he protested.

I thought fast, "Well then, I'll go back and get Ron, and we can use the broom from the flying key room to get out the trap door and get help, and - oh! -" A wave of emotion swept over me, and I threw myself at Harry, wrapping my arms round him. I whispered to him, "You're a great wizard, you know that, Harry?" I then told him to be careful, before taking a large gulp of the right potion. I then walked straight through the purple flames, not wanting to look back at Harry behind me.

I then ran over to Ron by the chess board, and gently shook him, wanting to wake him. I wasn't sure what else to do, and was relieved and surprised when he groaned and opened an eyelid several moments later. I then briefly explained what had happened and the vague plan. That woke him up the rest of the way, and he quickly leapt to his feet, saying there was no time to loose.

We then collected the broom from the flying key room, and rose from the ground, slightly shaky as we weren't sure if the old and rickety broom could hold the weight of two people. Luckily it did, and we flew much faster around the Devil's Snare and up the trapdoor. We dismounted as soon as we were past Fluffy (I hated flying with a passion), and started running to the Owlery in order to owl Professor Dumbledore. However, we never got that far, as we bumped into him on the way. He only spoke a few words, "Harry's done after him, hasn't he?" before swiftly moving past us back in the direction we had just come from. We were then left standing aimlessly, but when Ron started swaying slightly, I decided to escort him to the hospital wing.

We probably both needed it.

* * *

 **Another Saturday, so another update. This was a long one. Thank you again to all those who have taken the time to view this, and then favourite and follow this story, as well as to review it! They mean a lot to me.**

 **See you all again next week.**


	12. Chapter 12: Year 1

**Do I really still need to tell you I do not own Harry Potter? Yes? Oh, well, here you go: _I do not own Harry Potter._**

* * *

CHAPTER 12

Charlotte's POV

I got back to school a couple of days before the end of term. My mother's funeral wasn't able to happen for a few days which coincided with the first week of the summer holidays. Because of this, my father thought it would be better if I returned to school for the last for few days, thinking human interaction would be good for me.

So I came back to school, and instead of arriving to a relaxed school still recovering from exams, I came back to a school in an excited and hectic mess. There was a continuous buzz, and gossip was obviously spreading fast. As I walked through the corridors back up to the Gryffindor common room, I heard snatches of conversation, with regular phrases including, "Harry Potter," and "the Philosopher's Stone." Another common one was, "the Third floor corridor."

As I stepped through the portrait hole after a few other Gryffindors, I saw Ron and Hermione huddled together on a sofa by the fire, whispering intently. As the Fat Lady closed behind me, they noticed me, and the worried frowns on their faces became smiles.

I smiled back, and joined them on the sofa. I explained why I was back, as they were obviously surprised, and they then explained what had happened to them in the two days I'd been gone. They're explanation took longer, as an awful lot had happened: namely, they had gone and retrieved the Philosopher's Stone. That also explained Harry's absence.

We spent the rest of the day catching up, despite only having spent a few days apart. When Harry woke up the next day, we visited him for as long as Madame Pomfrey would allow. It also meant I could get the full story of what happened, as Ron and Hermione were lacking on some parts. We continued to visit him every day until the last day of term.

The last day of term was the day of the end of year feast before everyone went home. It was when last school matters were cleared up, and the House Cup was awarded. This year, like the past seven years, Slytherin would be receiving the cup, due to Harry, Hermione and me losing the one hundred and fifty points earlier in the term. It would also mean green and silver banners would line the hall, and that the Slytherin's teasing had gotten that bit worse in their excitement.

Harry joined us for the feast, as he had been deemed well-enough by a reluctant Madame Pomfrey to be released into the wilds of the school corridors again. The food appeared on the table before any announcements were made, and I enjoyed some lovely macaroni cheese: nothing could beat the one the school made. As pudding was revealed (I had some profiteroles - again, nothing could beat them), Dumbledore stood up, causing silence to fill the hall except for the soft chewing sounds of people eating.

"Ahh, another year gone," Dumbledore started his speech. "What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer to go and empty them again for next year.

"Now, as I understand, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points are as such: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points, in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two, Ravenclaw have four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

As expected, a cheering erupted from the Slytherin table, in a way I could only describe as similar to a hurricane.

Dumbledore continued his speech, "However, however, recent events must be taken into account. First, to Mr Ronald Weasley..."

We all looked at Ron, who seemed to have gone purple in the face with shock and embarrassment

"...for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points. Second, to Miss Hermione Granger..."

Hermione seemed both embarrassed and pleased with the attention.

"...for the cool use of logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points. Third, to Mr Harry Potter..."

Harry showed no response, almost as if he had been expecting it, but the rest of the hall went deathly quiet.

"...for pure nerve and cunning, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

Chattering broke out, and I could just make out Hermione's whispered voice going, "We're tied with Slytherin!"

Dumbledore still had more to say, "There are all kinds of courage, and it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, and a great deal more to stand up our friends. Therefore, to Mr Neville Longbottom, I award ten points."

This time, the cheering was loud enough to cause a tsunami on the great lake, as for the first time in seven years, someone other than Slytherin had won the House Cup. An exceptionally shocked Neville was buried under a mountain of people wanting to congratulate him, and for a minute I thought he might have suffocated or been crushed to death from the amount of people on top of him. Then, he resurfaced, and my worries were put to bed.

With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore turned the banners from green and silver to red and gold, and I too joined in the celebrations.

After the feast, we were sent back to our dormitories to retrieve our now-packed belongings. I also had to take a trip to the Owlery to collect Cliff, and told Harry I'd get Hedwig too as I knew he still had stuff to pack. Then, all too soon, we were being stuffed on the Hogwarts Express and waving goodbye to Hogwarts until September.

"Well, this is it then," I said. "We're going home."

"Not me," Harry responded. "Not really."

* * *

 **So, this is it. The end of year one. Year two is currently still being written, but I will try and keep up the regular updates. I hope you liked this and will continue onto year two next Saturday.**


	13. Chapter 13: Year 2

**I am so sorry I forgot to update this story yesterday, but the days of the week have got muddled up in my brain. (I know this excuse sucks, but you'll have to live with it.) This is the first chapter of year two and really just explains the summer holidays.  
Oh, and before I forget, _I am still not J.K. Rowling._ _Thank you._**

* * *

CHAPTER 13

The summer holidays passed immensely fast. I attended my mother's funeral in the first week and it settled my mind that she had a nice send off.

About four weeks before we were to go back to Hogwarts, a grey owl started pecking at my window. In its beak, two letters in the signature parchment and green ink of Hogwarts. I slid open the window, letting the owl, and took the letters from it. It then flew back through the window to wherever it now needed to be.

I looked at the two letters: one had been addressed to me, and the other had been addressed to my little brother Edward. He had obviously been accepted into Hogwarts too! I skipped downstairs, handed Ed his letter, and ripped open mine too.

It told me many things I already knew, such as the Hogwarts Express would be leaving Platform 9 3/4 on the first of September. There was a list of the books required for second year students:

 _The Standard Book of Spell, grade 2_ by Miranda Goshawk

 _Break with a Banshee_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

 _Gadding with ghouls_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

 _Holidays with Hags_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

 _Travels with Trolls_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

 _Voyages with Vampires_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

 _Wanderings with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

 _Year with the Yeti_ by Gilderoy Lockheart

I was slightly surprised by how many Gilderoy Lockheart books were on the list, but just guessed the new teacher really liked him, especially after seeing Ed had a similar list of books. I congratulated him on getting into Hogwarts, and started a letter to Hermione, Ron and Harry, asking their opinion on things.

I also spent a week at Hermione's house, and it was probably the best week of the holidays. While I was there, both Hermione and I got letters from Ron, explaining how he and the twins would be rescuing Harry from his relatives. I didn't know the true extent of the rescue, nor just how cruelly his aunt and uncle treated him, so was sceptical about the whole adventure.

Hermione wrote back to them on behalf of the both of us.

 _Dear Ron (and Harry, of you're there),_

 _We (Lottie and Hermione) hope everything went all right and that Harry is ok and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, as that would get Harry into trouble, too. I (Hermione) have been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let us know at once, but perhaps use a different owl, because I think another delivery will finish your one off._

 _I've been very busy with school work, of course_ **(that's Hermione, not me. Don't you guys worry, I am normal!).** _Charlotte and I have arranged to meet up in London next Wednesday to buy new school supplies. Why don't you two join us in Diagon Alley?_

 _Please let us know what's happening as soon as you can,_

 _Love from Hermione_ **and Lottie.**

We then continued with the struggling game of chess we were playing, as we were both determined to improve our skill. It wasn't working very well so far.

The next Wednesday, I arrived in Diagon Alley, showing my brother the important and useful sights, and ready to meet Hermione, Ron and Harry in Flourish and Blotts later. My grandfather and grandmother were with us, as they were from the wizarding side of my family, and were going to help Ed get all his first year school supplies.

After a quick stop at Gringotts for some money, I left Ed and my grandparents to their shopping and began my own. I had arranged to meet Hermione in an hour's time, and Ron and Harry an hour after that. This meant I had an hour on my own in which I could do my own shopping and get more quills and ink, and second year potion ingredients, all of which I desperately needed. I was also in need of some new robes, as my current ones were getting far too short in the arms and legs.

An hour later, I arrived at Flourish and Blotts and saw Hermione hovering in the doorway. Signs were plastered all over the doors and windows about a book signing happening later that day. Apparently, Gilderoy Lockheart would be giving a talk and signing copies of Magical Me, his new autobiography. However, we still had an hour and a half until the shop would be flooded with fans, and so we could browse the shelves in peace for a while.

After a time and I had bought all of mine and Ed's books, I noticed a large gaggle of rather untidy red-headed people enter the shop. At first, I took no notice of them, but I then realised that Ron was among them, and deduced that they must be the Weasley's. Hermione had obviously had a similar train of thought, as we both ran over at the same time, each carrying our hoard of books.

The Weasley's were all rather dirty, with black dust smeared across their faces. As I looked closer, I noticed it actually seemed to be soot, and guessed that they had arrived by Floo Powder. Someone I could only assume to be Mrs Weasley was at the front of the large group, and she seemed to be worrying absent-mindedly about something.

Ron soon confirmed for us what it was she was frantic about, "Well, we arrived using Floo Powder, you see; only Harry's never used it before and he choked on the soot, saying diagonally instead of Diagon Alley. We therefore don't know exactly where he is. Although he's probably only gone one grate along and is elsewhere in the Alley." He added the last bit rather hastily after seeing Hermione's aghast expression.

We then milled around in Flourish and Blotts for a while, helping Ron find his books, catching up with news from the summer, and waiting for either Harry to turn up or Lockheart's talk to begin. Waves of people started filtering through the doors of the bookshop, causing the already slightly cramped space to become like a tin of sardines.

Not too long later, a yellow haired man (yellow, not blonde) stepped forward, with a short and slightly desperate reporter following behind. I instantly know that this is the _absolutely wonderful_ Gilderoy Lockheart, mostly from his incredibly fake smile. That and the awed gasps and giggles from the women in the room. Idiots.

However, the room falls silent when he starts talking, "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, I present to you Order of Merlin, third class, winner of witch weekly's smile of the year award five years running, and soon to be Hogwarts new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher; me!"

I groaned, and tuned out of his exceptionally vain and arrogant welcome speech. Having Gilderoy Lockheart teaching us Defence for a year would certainly be one of the worst experiences of my life.

About half way through the speech, someone who appeared to have just joined bumped into me, and I turned round to have a look at them. Instead of seeing a stranger, I was confronted with Harry. He, like the Weasley's, was covered in soot, obviously from the Floo powder. I whispered, "Harry!" but realised that his glasses were broken, and knowing a handy spell, tried to help, "Let me fix those for you: _Occulus Reparo_." As I flicked my wand, his glasses returned to normal.

Unfortunately, Hermione overheard my conversation, so turned around, and just slightly too loud said, "Harry!" too. This meant that Lockheart overheard, and drew his attention to us. The reporter also noticed us, and dragged Harry out of the audience towards Lockheart. He was then thrust next to him, forced to have his photo taken with the idiot for the newspaper tomorrow. Harry looked exceptionally uncomfortable, but there was nothing we could do to save him from the ordeal.

When he was finally released from Lockheart, Harry gave Mrs Weasley the free books he had been given, before joining us by the door. He seemed rather annoyed, which only worsened when Draco Malfoy slithered into our day.

Malfoy appeared to have been watching from the small balcony area above the main floor of the bookshop, and seemed to think that what had happened would be a suitable thing to rile Harry up about. An argument erupted about blood status of all things. It got worse when Lucius Malfoy (Draco's father) and Arthur Weasley (Ron's father) overheard our conversation, and started debating about what made a good wizard. It took Hagrid to have to intervene before they stopped, and when they did, they both looked rather dishevelled. Lucius gave us a snide look, gave Ginny back the book he had taken off her, and strutted out of the shop with Draco trailing behind.

The rest of our trip to Diagon Alley was very uneventful after that, and as I waved goodbye to my friends until September, I decided I couldn't wait to go back to school.

* * *

 **So, this is the start of year two! It will continue next week, and the week after, and most probably the week after too.  
See you on Saturday.  
**


	14. Chapter 14: Year 2

**_AN 1:_ God, I'm getting really bad at updating, aren't I? Still, at least I'm updating now!  
Oh, and I'm still not J.K. Rowling.  
**

 _ **AN**_ **2:** **OK, so I'm so, so, so sorry I haven't updated! I promise more chapters are coming, but they just might be a while. I've put a full explanation at the bottom.**

* * *

CHAPTER 14

Just under a month later, and we were going back to Hogwarts. I met Hermione on the platform, but was surprised when Ron and Harry weren't with her. We looked at each other, and we gave each other a look of, "Where are they? They are coming, aren't they?"

Unfortunately, we couldn't answer, and so decided it would be best to just find a compartment and wait for the boys to come and find us. However, when the train started moving, and we started pulling out of the station, we started to get on edge. We reassured ourselves that the boys were just occupying themselves in another compartment waiting for _us_ , or searching for us along the train.

It wasn't until Ginny (with tagging along behind) appeared at our compartment door, asking where Ron and Harry were, that we knew they probably weren't on the train. In the end, to save ourselves from worrying too much, we played Exploding Snap with Neville, until we eventually arrived at the station.

There, we saw Ginny and Ed scurrying towards Hagrid with a blonde haired girl, as we walked towards the carriages. Everyone says they pull themselves, but I knew better. I could see the skeletal horses pulling the carriages, and identified them as thestrals. They can be seen by those who have seen death. I didn't bring it up with Hermione as I didn't want to worry her, so instead I added it to my growing list of secrets.

Eventually, we arrived at the somewhat intimidating main doors of the Great Hall through which a stream of students who had got earlier carriages were filtering. As we entered the Great Hall, I couldn't help but smile in awe. It felt good to be back at Hogwarts, and despite having seen it almost every day for the past year I still marvelled at the beauty of it.

We quickly found some seats by the empty space left to accommodate and slipped into them, wanting to congratulate new first years. It would also probably be where Ron and Harry would beeline to so they could congratulate Ginny when she was inevitably sorted into Gryffindor. Hopefully Ed would join us too.

We chatted quietly with Neville until the first years were brought into the hall by Professor McGonagall, at which point the hall fell quieter almost instantaneously. The first years looked both terrified and amazed, and I felt a sudden rush of pity, remembering how I had felt when I was in their place. I managed to pick out Ginny in the crowd (her read hair gave her away), but quickly lost her again when the first person was called forward.

My brother and Ginny were some of the last to be called as they were called up in alphabetical order (Windsor and Weasley aren't very far up). Ginny went first, and just like Ron had the year before, was almost immediately sorted into Ravenclaw. Everyone from the house of the lions cheered loudly, but Hermione, Ron and I cheered loudest of all.

In quick succession of Ginny, Ed was called. He definitely seemed to take longer than anyone else had so far, just as I had taken a while myself. Therefore, when he was sorted into Gryffindor with a smile and look of relief, I could tell my voice drowned out everyone around me. When he sat next to me at the table (the only remaining free seat) I hugged him quickly, whispered "Well done!" before reverting my attention back to the front of the hall.

Ed had been the last person to be sorted, so Dumbledore was already beginning his speech. It was the normal inspiring madness common from Dumbledore, and just as last year, the hall burst into applause afterwards. However, most of us were then distracted by food, and not much more occurred other than people catching up on the last two months apart.

Eventually, the feast ended, and we were all released back to our common rooms. Hermione and I each had our pockets full of food in case Harry and Ron had somehow turned up at school while we were eating. The prefect escorting us (Percy) told us the password was 'Wattlebird', before the Fat lady opened up and allowed us entry to what would be our home for the next year.

It was wonderful to see the worn, threadbare furniture and faded armchairs again, particularly the four we had claimed as our own last year. A fire was roaring in the hearth, and only a few sixth and seventh years were present. That was except for the two second years, one with red hair, the other with raven hair, who were sat exactly where they had the year before.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "Where have you been? We were so worried!"

"Um, well, you see -" Ron started hesitantly, but was fortunately cut off by Lee Jordan.

"Are the rumours true? Did you really fly to school?"

"Was it really in your dad's car?" Another person asked.

"Someone told me you nearly got expelled!" Yet another person bombarded our friends with questions. Eventually, so many people were clamouring for answers, Hermione and I were pushed away from the boys. All we could do was wait until the excitement died down.

When it eventually did, we already knew what had happened from Harry and Ron explaining it to the crowd about five times, so therefore didn't need to ask any questions. Instead, we tried to pretend it had never happened, although I could tell Hermione was fuming, and I wasn't particularly proud of them either.

Therefore, it wasn't long before both Hermione and I bid the boys farewell and went up to our dormitory. As we left, we saw another crowd swarm around them, obviously hungry for more information.

* * *

 **So, I haven't updated this story for a while, and I still haven't added any new chapters today either. I am in the process of writing new chapters but unfortunately, I have encountered some pretty bad writer's block with this story. I will try to finish some more chapters as soon as possible but I can't promise when I'll have finished them by. Like I said, I am so sorry for this, but I will do my best to finish chapters for all of you who have favourited, followed and reviewed this story. To those of you who have, you have my greatest thanks. You are amazing!  
Sorry again.**


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